The present invention relates in general to latching mechanisms which are designed to securely connect one object to another object, such as a boat to a boat trailer. More specifically, the present invention is an automatic latching and releasing mechanism, which may be mounted on an appropriately equipped boat trailer, and latches or releases the securing eye of a boat.
Numerous attempts have been made in recent decades to solve the inconvenience and risk of injury associated with the present commonly used method of securing a boat to a trailer with a winch, strap and hook. This method usually entails the manual cranking of a winch to draw or release a strap that may be connected to a hook that may be hooked to the securing eye on the centerline of the bow of a boat. It typically requires an individual to access the point at which the boat and the trailer come in contact while the boat is in the water by wading in the water, leaning over the bow of the boat or climbing onto the tongue of the trailer. This current prevalent method is not only dangerous and inconvenient but is particularly difficult for one person to perform alone. It is also very difficult for an individual of limited strength to perform.
A few products are already on the market that are designed to solve the problems associated with trailering a boat.
A boat latch sold under the trademark SNAPPER, manufactured by EPCO Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind. is an electronically controlled attachment device that entered the market within the last 2 years. The device is cumbersome to install due its design and electrical hook up necessity as well expensive and vulnerable due to the electronics near a water environment.
A boat latch sold under the trademark BOAT BUDDY, manufactured by ROECO, Inc. Fort Worth, Tex. is a simple and inexpensive device that attaches a boat to a trailer but does not offer an effective or convenient way to release the boat from the trailer. In effect, this device creates as much inconvenience in releasing a boat from a trailer as it creates convenience in connecting the two.
Another product on the market is the boat latch sold under the trademark LAUNCH AND RETRIEVE BOAT LATCH manufactured by Release & Retrieve Boat Latch Pty Ltd, Adelaide, Australia. This product incorporates a latch that is offset from a boat's centerline and utilizes a unique eyehook on a boat's bow. Incumbent to the product's design is the necessity to change the typical eye hook found on most modern boats which can be a cumbersome exercise. Also disadvantageous to this product is that its design forces a boat's bow off center in order to latch putting lateral pressure on the boat trailer's guides causing potential damage.
A wide variety of mechanisms have been designed using clasps, pins and hooks to automatically secure a boat to a trailer. Most are designed to eliminate the need for an individual to access the point of contact between boat and trailer while the boat is in the water when loading a boat onto a trailer. While one common element among most is their use of the securing eye that is standard equipment on most boats, other elements of prior designs vary widely.
One such earlier design for latching a boat to a trailer was a mechanism using a spring-loaded pin represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,446 which was issued Apr. 24, 1990 to Higgins. This design, however, does not provide an automatic releasing mechanism and does not provide a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle.
Another earlier design for latching a boat to a trailer was a mechanism using a spring-loaded pin represented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,267 which was issued Nov. 2, 1976 to Robinson. This design, however, does not provide an automatic latching or release mechanism, is difficult to attach to a typical modern boat trailer, does not employ a bow guide, does not provide a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle, and eliminates the potential use of the traditional winch apparatus.
Another such earlier design is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,079 issued Jun. 9, 1992 to Boggs. The novelty of this design was in the bow guide used to protect the boat and invention. And while a locking pin mechanism was used, no automatic release mechanism was employed and no secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
Another earlier design which used a spring loaded pin is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,920 issued Sep. 19, 1978 to Boettcher. While a spring loaded pin assembly was used in combination with a bow guide, neither a release mechanism nor the ability to use the winch and strap apparatus was possible and the trailer mounting design is complicated and adds numerous parts. Also, no secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
Another earlier design which employs a spring loaded pin and a bow guide is U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,835 issued Mar. 16, 1993 to Sheets. This design, however, does not entail a simple to install, one piece designed apparatus that has an automatic release mechanism accompanying the securing mechanism nor a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
A more recent design which does not employ a pin mechanism but does have an automatic release mechanism is U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,138 issued Aug. 2, 2005 to Holbrook. The mechanism utilizes a motor driven rotating head on a shaft that protrudes from the bow of a boat and is captured and released by two steel plates. The mechanism is relatively complicated with numerous moving parts in various conditions. It also requires modification to the standard bow securing eye found on most boats and does not allow for the traditional winch, strap and hook method to be used as a back-up.
Referring to FIG. 1, a side elevational view of a boat 12 loaded on a boat trailer 38 which includes a prior art latching mechanism. The boat 12 may be pulled up onto the boat trailer 38 by a securing eye 16, such as an eyehook, by means of a hook attached to a strap 32 and retrieved by a winch 30. The winch 30 may be powered by hand by means of a winch handle 31 or by electric motor and may be attached to a winch housing 34 by a bolt 40. The centerline of the boat 12 may be guided by a roller 42 that may be mounted by means of a mounting bolt 66 at the end of a first winch arm extension 8a and a second winch arm extension 8b (not pictured) and keeps boat 12's bow centered on the boat trailer 38. The entirety of the prior art latching mechanism may be supported by a first winch pedestal 36a and a second winch pedestal 36b. 